Swiss Bircher Muesli

2012-01-07T14:24:00.000-08:00

Maaaany years ago, my husband and I went away for a weekend to one of those charming little bed n breakfasts that I always wanted to go to. Nestled in the picturesque little village of Leura, we settled in for a weekend of well-deserved indulgence.

Now, keep in mind that we have the weekend to ourselves, we have a gorgeous location, we have the Blue Mountains for a back-drop. But the thing that I remember most about that weekend was that it was the weekend that I discovered Bircher Muesli. Never had it before and have never had a good one since then.

Until this morning.

Recipe (to feed 6):

4 cups traditional oats
2 cups almond milk
2 cups unsweetened apple juice
1 tsp each of vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg
1 red apple, grated with skin on
1 pear, grated with skin on
blueberries (as many or as little as you like)
a large dollop of greek-style vanilla yoghurt.

If you've never tried almond milk before, you can substitute it for regular milk (or no milk at all); but I highly suggest you put your faith in the recipe - you won't be disappointed.

I soaked the oats with the almond milk, apple juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla overnight.

This morning I served it up with some toasted almonds, grated apple, grated pear, a handful of blueberries and the most divine greek-style vanilla yoghurt.

It looked like this:

And it will make you feel like this.

Prep time: 2 mins the night before and 5 mins in the morning.
Cooking time: 1 min to toast some slivered almonds in the morning.
Cost: Under $15
Would I cook it again?: Yessiree
What would I do differently next time?: Nothing, really. I love the thick, creamy (and, yet, low-fat) greek-style vanilla yoghurt; but I could probably make my own.

I'm feelin' goooood. Hope you are, too :)

Pad Thai

2012-01-02T17:42:00.001-08:00

Cannot believe *I* am going to try this. Me!

I'm so embarrassed to admit this, but I am THE self-proclaimed Asian food noob of Western Sydney. Stop laughing at me.

British/Australian? No probs. Italian? Too easy. Spanish? I'll give it a good crack. Greek, Lebanese, even French cuisine doesn't really intimidate me. But Asian terrifies me to thrilling proportions. And I love it!

Now, all I know about Pad Thai you could probably fit into a drop of sesame oil. I do know, however, that it is fresh and flavorsome - the Holy Trinity of dinner meals, as far as I'm concerned.

So, when I saw a photo of this as the Meal-of-the-Day in Taste.com.au, I promised my family that I'd give it a go.

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/27787/pad+thai

All day I was so excited: the planning, the buying, the anticipation.

The recipe was for 3-4 people, so I had to double it.

This is what I needed:

Now, I know this is pathetic, but I had never bought chillies before (I know!), so, while the recipe asked for 3 whole, long chillies, I was supposed to double it! I settled with just the one chilli. Pathetic on soooo many levels, right?

Anyway, this is what mine turned out like:

But, now, let's talk about the flavour.

One word: WOW!

Now I know what they're talking about when they go on about the sweet, salty, spicy, sour combination.

My 11yo said it perfectly, "It's like there's a new flavour in your mouth every time you take a bite."

Prep time took a bit longer than suggested (I wanted to do it all juuuuuust right): 20 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins (honestly!)
Cost: Just under $40 - the frozen prawns (for shame!) were on special for $18/kg and I had the sunflower oil and nuts (thank you, Xmas). I, also, made an Asian greens salad on the side for about $10.
Would I cook it again: Yes, indeed.
What would I do differently next time?: I would cut up some more chilli to have on the side for those of us who would like it just a little bit spicier.

One down, 99 to go :)

Paola in the Pantry

Swiss Bircher Muesli

Pad Thai